DETECTIVES are urging people to be vigilant after telephone fraudsters conned a vulnerable Ulverston pensioner out of her savings.

Officers said the iTunes con came to light when they were made aware of the community's concern for a 71-year-old woman who was buying iTunes vouchers to a high value in the Ulverston area on Thursday.

An investigation discovered the pensioner had received a call requesting she purchase large amounts of iTunes vouchers in order to receive more than £12,000 in PPI money. The victim had purchased £650 of the vouchers.

The incident is not the only con officers have been made aware of in south Cumbria.

On Tuesday a 63-year-old man visited Kendal Police Station to report that he had received a call from someone claiming to be from the Ministry of Justice who requested he purchase £150 worth of iTunes vouchers in order to receive £6,500 in PPI money.

Detectives said this a national scam that sees fraudsters target victims via call, voicemail or text message.

They are often claiming to be from a government agency, such as HMRC or the Ministry of Justice, urging victims to purchase iTunes vouchers in order to then receive money owed to them.

The victim then is asked to give the fraudsters the iTunes voucher code.

Detective Chief Inspector Helen Harkins said:

“Unfortunately we keep seeing incidents of this nature, where fraudsters target members of the public and entice them by stating they are owed large amounts of money.

“If you get such an unexpected call, where you are asked to transfer money or hand over vouchers, terminate the call immediately and contact Action Fraud.

“We ask that any members of the public with elderly relatives and neighbours share the message with them. It is often the most vulnerable in our society that these criminals target, and we need to all ensure they are educated enough to be confident against these scammers.”

For more information visit www.cumbria.police.uk.